Australis

A few months ago a spotted the new Australis liquid strobe illuminating/highlight drops in my local Priceline and jumped at the chance to try them. Having dry skin I love trying new cream and liquid products. They retail for $19.95 so they are a bit pricey if you’re going to get them both, or if you’ve got an extensive highlighter collection. If you don’t or if you just want them anyway and want to know what I think about them, then read on, dear friend, read on.

First Impression: Pretty but eh..

When I was swatching them on my hand, I instantly fell in love with them, they give off the prettiest natural sheen, no chunky glitter at all, but after a little while of rubbing the product in, I noticed it started to separate especially in the spot where I’d had foundation on my hand from previous swatches, – not cute. This put a halt on me wanting to use them on my face. I removed them with a makeup wipe and did another test, this time I used less product, made sure there were no oils on my hand and swatched again – success!

I wasn’t blessed with beautiful hands, so just imagine they’re food network quality hand model hands. The two shades are so pretty, I hope they come out with more to suit everyone as I can really only wear the pink shade. I wear both because I do what I want! But the gold one looks good when I have some kind of tan.

How I use it: Daily glow!

This is my go to glow for days when I’m not wearing any makeup – work, uni, errands. On days such as this I only do my brows, mascara and highlight. So here is a pic of me in my ‘every day’ glory – dry skin and freckles galore!

that nose highlight tho…I mainly go for the forehead, tip of the nose, cupids bow (my favourite), chin and then cheek bones.

#sneakymirrorselfie (;

Tips and Tricks: apply sans sponge!

I found that using a small amount and blending it in with fingers works best, and then with your brush or beauty sponge just *dab* around the edges to blend it into foundation or skin.

The Product // Final thoughts:

The product has a silicone/slippy feel to it but it doesn’t feel gross on the skin. It has a pretty good liquid time before it sets so it gives you plenty of time to finesse it and work it into place. Adding little at a time to build intensity is my favourite way to use it. Once it sets it is in place for good! Doesn’t transfer or rub off and because its a liquid it doesn’t have that layer of powder look / feel. – for me thats great, my skin is like the Sahara desert, the less power the better.

These also look beautiful mixed in with other products – foundation, tinted moisturiser etc. Work well on the face and the body.

While its no lie that I love Australis products – I could probably do a full face with all A/C products, this is another great one and I think its worth trying out! Plus, the dropper applicator is super fun. Products with droppers are almost guaranteed to go home with me.

Things I’ve noticed: I’m a detective.

No smell

Easy to work with

Good amount of product for price

Glass jars – be careful

Not gloopy – product is quite thin

No chunky glitter

Let me know if you’ve used these or are thinking about purchasing. I’m nosey so tell me your life stories (:

Now, I’m not one to do ‘Monthly Favourites’, I love reading them, but I just suck at doing them. Which is kinda sad because I love sharing products that I’m currently loving. Today I’m here to share with you some products that I like that go on my face! Surprisingly there are a lot of highlighters in this lot of stuff, I didn’t expect that to happen. But I’m glad it did, I’m really excited to share with you some of my favourite ‘face’ products!

Unbeknownst to me at the time, but I kind of organised this photo into groups. The first three on the left side are for more of a dewy look, the three on the right side are more matte. The bottom two are liquid/cream products, then the next middle two are ‘primer’-esque products and the top two are liquid foundations. The column through the middle is powder. I honestly just threw it all together for the one photo. I think it worked out alright. It serves its purpose.

Prime:

Priming my face is something that I’ve recently started to make a beauty habit. Since discovering Kismet Jardin and working with them, using the Hydra Gem under my foundation has become apart of my morning routine. You can read my full review of it here. It works so well under foundation, for me being of the dry skin type using this product allows me to wear matte finish foundations without it clinging to my dry spots!

The QV Matte finish oil free moisturiser is a new product that was only released in stores April 1st. I didn’t know if it was going to be a good fit for me because I do have dry skin, but using this product on top of the Kismet Jardin Hydra Gem allows me to use super dewy finish foundations. I never knew that priming my face would have such benefits to the look and wear of my entire face of makeup. I now can’t live without these two products!

Foundation:

I’d been a lover of the L’Oreal True Match in the original formula for quite a while but sadly the finish clings to some of my dry spots, I finally make the decision to purchase the Lumi version of the foundation and it is perfection! I use this on top of the Hydra Gem and Matte moisturiser together and it gives my face the most flawless finish! I love this foundation so much and can see myself repurchasing it over and over!

The Maybelline foundation is something that I’d heard a lot about but had never picked up, but in the 40%off Cosmetics Priceline sale and I’m glad I did. I can wear this on top of the Hydra Gem and not even have to powder on top! It has such a nice natural finish. It lasts a really long time and doesn’t break down or separate which is a winner in anyones book. The shade I have is a little bit pink for me but I can get away with it, which is good because I’ve been using this foundation a lot lately and I don’t want to live without it.

Australis’ fresh and flawless face powder is a cult classic. I’ve been using it for years, and I’m never disappointed. It glides effortlessly over liquid foundation to add some extra coverage and to set. It also works so well on its own when I’m having those rare ‘good skin days’. I own it in a few shades and use them all at once. It is such an affordable product for everyday use!

Highlighters/Illuminators

There are a few here that are in my daily use rotation. A mix of different formulas and a wide range in brands, I’m really excited to share with you these products. From left to right the brands are: Williams Pro Makeup, Vani-T, Tarte and Face of Australia.

You can see here that there are different shades and vary in luminosity and glow. I use them all so much and would love for you to try some of these products!

Williams Pro: #SelfieGlo
This beautiful little diamond tub holds a loose pigment like highlighter that can be used all over the body. I’ve used it on the cheeks and cupids bow, as well as a brow highlight even as an eye shadow. It is gorgeous. It has a duo chrome finish to it from a pearly white to a warm pinky red/orange/gold? it sounds strange but it reflects the colours in your skin tone so well to make it look very natural. This product can be layered for more intensity, too. I really like to spray my brush with MAC fix+ and apply this as an eye shadow. It is so pretty!

Vani-T: Mineral Colour Stick – Ivory
I got sent this product by a mix up, but I’m happy to have it in my collection. I fell in love with Vani-T products after the Bloggers United AU Adelaide event and since then I’ve purchased more products, but this colour stick is such a beautiful warm highlight shade. It blends into the skin like butter, it is absolutely gorgeous. Because it is a cream product, you can set it with a powder highlight and it makes everything absolutely pop! I LOVE this product and will probably purchase some more of the colour sticks. They’re universal!

Tarte: Rainforest of the Sea ‘Skin Twinkle’ lighting palette:
I picked this up in the 40% off Tarte sale a little while back and to say I was excited was an understatement! The two shades swatched here are: (L-R) Sunlight (champagne gold) and Moonlight (rosy pearl). These are so pretty and perfect for daily glow but as always, like all highlighters can be layered for intensity. The products are so smooth they look and feel like cream, but they are powder and some of the finest powders I own. The shade in the middle is a matte shade that I use for setting my under eye area. You can see the dent taken out of it, I really do like that powder. (its not swatched though).

Face of Australia: Mineral Therapy Illuminator – Angel Mist
You can mix this in with your foundation for an all over dewy glow, use it as an all over face primer for that ‘back lit’ glow from within look, or tapped on the cheeks bones and other ‘general highlight’ areas. It blends so easy. It is a liquid product so a little goes a long way! Its a pinky / pearl / shell illuminator and it does a great job of bringing out that natural glow.

And there you have it! These are some of the products that I’ve been really liking so far! If you want an in-depth review on any of the products in this blog, just ask and I’ll get to it!

Valentines Day is just around the corner and while this is a reason to get dressed up for date night or a day to just stay in. Its still just a day and here is a makeup look you can wear. I wanted to keep this post light hearted while still delivering a little tutorial.

The look itself is super simple I used Inglot shadows and an Australis cream shadow and thats it!

Magenta and baby pink mixed with some lovely lashes and a magenta lip! This might be dramatic to some, but makeup has no rules if you’ve got confidence! This look is perfect for date night, going to the movies, vacuuming the house, collecting the mail, drinking wine. The options are limitless!

I used Inglot: 357 through the crease to give it some depth. 613 to smoke out the crease and add colour. Australis Metallix eyeshadow in: ‘Guns and Rose Petals’ for the intense shimmer. Inglot: 31 pressed onto the inner corner to set the cream shadow and 30 as a brow highlight.

Lash Sensational mascara by Maybelline for a quick coat before the 149 Exaggerate lashes by Eyelure.

Savvy blush in ‘Plum’.

Australis Velourlips in ‘Shang-hii’ for the lips! Its a matte lippy so its perfect for a bit of a kiss here and there. Also won’t come off if you’re eating a microwave meal and you’re onto your second glass (bottle) of wine. (;

I hope you like this look, regardless of the day. I can’t wait to smother myself in 613 eyeshadow when its Autumn – not long now!

Its that time again where the holiday palettes start coming out, our bank accounts start crying and our favourite places start having some major sales! The 18th and 19th of November saw the massive cosmetics sale at Priceline – the two day event offers 40% off all cosmetics in store and online. A lot of people prepare for this sale (myself included) and I’m going to show you what I got and what I wasn’t able to pick up because it was already sold out!

I’ll start out with my wish list – what I was wanting to pickup the most:

Models Prefer soft touch powder/s

Maybelline Color Drama Lip pencils (I really wanted the nude)

Face of Australia Translucent Powder

Face of Australia Illuminator – Angle Mist

Face of Australia Face Base Primer

Australis Fresh and Flawless Pressed Powder (pale shade)

Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation

Australis ‘Show some cheek’ Blush

Sally Hansen Nail Polish – Clear

Savvy Blush

Physicians Formula Liquid ‘Syrum’ Liner

Sally Hansen eyelash curler

Bourjois 16hr liquid liner

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation

With that in mind, I set out shopping! I went with my two best friends Zoe (newbytobeauty) and Sarah (pastel sparkles) which was so great because we’ve been swamped with uni work lately and haven’t had a chance to hang out and go shopping all together in a long time. I was so excited to just be around two of my favourite people. We went to the city to go to the Priceline stores there. We went to a smaller one off Galwer Place in the city thinking that no one would think to go there – we were wrong. For the little ‘out of the way’ store it was pretty busy. I got hit with massive anxiety and got all frazzled and only picked up a few things from that store, although keeping in mind we were going to another Priceline afterwards. There were some things in this store that were sold out. Like: 1, 2, 4 and 12 from the list above. I’d decided I’d pick up the Bourjois liquid liner another time because I’d just got the Physicians Formula one and I’ve got a few at home that I love inc. my inglot gel liner. ❤ We went to the register and I had the chance to use my ‘priceline cash back’ coupon thing so I got $10 off the total price. YAY. It was time to rehydrate and chill because it was actually 37 degrees that day. We went to BOOST JUICE to get a Tropical Crush (the best thing ever) then we decided to go to the other Priceline in the Myer Centre. I picked up the rest of my list except for the Savvy blush because I’d not seen one I’d really wanted (they’re decently priced normally anyway) and the Face of Australia illuminator was sold out here too, sad times for me and I’d actually forgotten about the FOA Primer. It was time to leave the city, get out of the heat and play with all our new purchases! Zoe and I got a bus back to uni together and Sarah went to catch her train home. On the way back to uni was horrid, the bus was packed, I was sweating from places I didn’t even know I had! BUT Zoe and I ended up going out to dinner together because it was obviously way too hot to cook anything!

I ended up going back to Priceline on the 19th (day two of the sale) with my sister and picked up the two Face of Australia items that I’d missed out on at my local Priceline. I also got to chat with my favourite Priceline lady, so that is always a win in my book!

Now, I’ve done a post comparing this product to some other matte lip creams on the market (Savvy and Bourjois) and since doing this post, my Australis collection has basically doubled so keep an eye out for Vol 2 and possible Vol 3 and so on and so fourth until the end of time because these matte lip products hold a very special place in my heart.

These retail for AUD$9.95 at Priceline stores which I think its a pretty good price (BECAUSE EVERYTHING IN AUSTRALIA IS OVER PRICED! #rant)

Even if you don’t like all the shades or think they won’t suit you, you are bound to find at LEAST one you like. Now me, I don’t think they all suit me, but at the same time, I don’t care because I like the colours they come in and if they’re worn right – I guess they don’t look terrible? – in my opinion some of the pinks don’t suit my skin tone – but I’ll wear them anyway if they go with what I’m wearing etc or the rest of my makeup.

I not only match my lip colour to the rest of the makeup – but I also decide if I like it if it compliments my other features two of the main things I look for in a lip colour is how it looks against my skin tone and also how it reacts to my eye colour. My eyes are a chocolate brown, my hair is brown and my skin is quite fair, so I want the lip colour to compliment all of that and make my other features stand out.

I’ll now go through my opinion of the swatches I’ve so kindly done for you all. (my lips, man – so sore after all of this)

Now as you should already know – the general rule of makeup is ‘choose one’. Statement eyes or Statement lips. Not both (unless the balance is flawless) I’m wearing a neutral eye look so the statement of course is the lips. NOW on to my swatch opinions.

NY-CEE: This is a beautiful ‘festive’ red. Its more of a bright red with ‘orange’ undertones – but for me it just reminds me of Christmas.

MAL-I-BOO: A bright bubblegum pink. My opinion of ‘Barbie Pink’. I honestly didn’t think this colour would suit me at all – and maybe it doesn’t but don’t disregard it. It brings warmth to the face.

TOK-I-O: To me – this colour reminds me of ‘Cadbury’ chocolate packaging and with my brown eyes I love wearing this colour. It is perfect for the colder months too where you want a pop of colour on what might be a very ‘black on black’ outfit.

RIO-D: I honestly thought I would wear this the least. But it is such a nice neon orange. (something I thought I’d never say) it goes perfectly with blue in the outfit or blue nails (sky blue) and again, it looks nice against my eye colour. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments when I’ve worn this colour.

PAR-EE: This is so close to my skin colour and I love it. Its like a my lips but better matte. Because it blends against my skin tone so well, my cheeks seem more flushed and my eyes seem brighter. To me this is a WIN WIN situation!

MI-A-MEE: This colour reminds me of watermelon. I didn’t think I’d like it but I find myself drawn to it. I don’t think I own many lip colours in this shade. This is one of the newer purchases so I’m keen to start wearing it more in spring and summer.

HO-CHEE-MIN: I think this is the colour that suits me the least. I think (and this never happens) I might be too tan for this shade (at the moment) It looks like a very natural pink flush and against a darker complexion it seems a bit ‘hoochie’. That is my opinion. It won’t stop me from wearing it though.

LUN-DUN: I wore this colour out to dinner tonight and got quite a few compliments. It is a dusty cool tone pink that can go with a range of different outfits. This was the first time I’ve worn it out – and I must say I’m a fan.

I’ve worn all of these shades for at least one whole day (the first six I’ve worn multiple times) and I have to tell you, I don’t need to re-apply. (unless I’m making a mess of myself eating) They stay on all day through food, talking, drinking – and once you’ve put them on and they dry – they take some time getting off. (Perfect for date night (; )

There wasn’t really much to this post except for me telling you how much I love these products. Australis has some amazing stuff out and its not just these products, I own a number of different products by this brand and love them all.

What is your favourite Australis product? – have you tried any of the velourlips? Leave me a comment telling me which one is your favourite!

Thank you so much for reading, your support means the world to me, don’t forget:

I am a huge fan of matte finish lip products and when I noticed a heap of them on the market lately, I’m not gonna lie, I think my bank account died a little inside.

There are 3 brands that I’ve had my eye on for a while:

Bourjois: I’ve been a fan of their products and their liquid eyeliner is my all time favourite.

Australis: I’ve used their products a lot, and I like them, I’m becoming even more of a fan of their lip products, but I’ve never tried anything from this range before.

Savvy: I’ve never used anything from this brand before, but with a price tag of under $10, I’m not gonna say no.

I have 3 products from each line and have worn at least one from each line for a full day plus I’ve swatched all products. Lets get into it!

Bourjois:

Rouge Edition Velvet

Right off the bat, I have to say that the packaging is really nice, its simple elegant and like all things French, its a little bit chic. However, one thing I will say, is the safety seal that each product is individually wrapped in was an absolute disaster to remove. Resulting in flakey plastic stuck to the packaging making it a bit of an eye sore. I know its not that big of a deal. But its something I noticed and thought you all should know. Prepare for battle when opening these badboys.

The colours (Left to Right) Grand Cru, Olé Flamingo and Pink Pong

The sales pitch:

“Its soft, melting texture glides on to the lips and turns into a matt, velvety and incredibly light colour. Lips are left smooth and soft as velvet.

Texture/Consistency: Its true, they are incredibly soft and it does just glide right on. Lips do feel smooth without feeling ‘gloopy’. Also true that your lips don’t feel dry. This is a big win in my book.

Colour/Pigment: I was so happy with 2 out of 3 of the purchases. The colours are strong and vibrant (the photos don’t do them justice) But the colour ‘Grand Cru’ just doesn’t cut it. I don’t know what went wrong with this one but it is an epic disappointment.

Smell: No aroma. Smells like your average lip product.

Application: Easy. Like I said before, product just glides on, the applicator makes thing simple and mess free.

Wear and Tear: When I wore it, It lasted the whole day, I don’t think I touched up and I’m sure I went out for lunch whilst wearing it. It honestly feels like you’re not wearing anything, which is good and bad I think. I like knowing something is on my face before I accidentally wipe my mouth. But other than that. It is a great product.

Price: This is one of the only downsides, of the products on review today this one is the priciest by far, the only reason I bout the three (let alone one) is because they are currently on sale. I got them for $10 each instead of the usual price of $25. Honestly they are good, but there are a lot more products out there that do the same thing or better for the same price or cheaper. Just keep that in mind. But if you see them on sale, snag them up! But keep in mind Grand Cru is a bit disappointing.

Swatches:

Australis:

Velourlips Matte Lip Cream

I love a lot of Australis’ lip products and I was quite excited to give these a try.

Again with packaging, these have really cute packaging (and you don’t have to deal with a demonic safety seal, this one is simple to remove).

This range of lip product has cute names that are ‘City’ themed. When I see something like that its almost an instant purchase for me. Then I have to reason with myself, but I’m glad I purchased this.

Left to Right the colours are: Ny-cee, Tok-i-o and Ma-li-boo

The sales pitch:

“Highly pigmented lips are the look of the moment, and this lip cream takes it to the next level with its beautiful matte finish! The creamy long-wear formula glides on easily with its doe foot applicator, finishing to a velvety matte look with intense, full coverage colour payoff. Perfect for when you want lasting, matte colour that moves with your lips without flaking.”

Texture/Consistency: Quite a lot thicker than the Bourjois ones, but its not that bad. I didn’t find them as moisturising, but thats not saying they were like sandpaper to put on. They are a nice smooth consistency. But we wary, this product does ‘dry’ quite quick, so any mistakes better be removed quickly. They do feel a bit dry throughout the day, but nothing that is too uncomfortable or a moisturising clear lipgloss or balm cant fix.

Colour/Pigment: Amazing colour and pigment. They’re more vibrant in person, the photos (again) just don’t seem to cut it.

Smell: I’m not sure if it is meant to be this way, or not, but they have a kind of Cherry smell to them. I find it quite pleasant.

Application: Super easy, glide on smoothly. They do dry quick.

Wear and Tear:This product is a solid decision if you don’t intent on changing lippy throughout the say. If you go with one of these, you’ve made a commitment. They stayed on the whole day, I was eating, drinking, talking and it stayed true to the sales pitch and “moved with my lips without flaking”.

Price: These beauties are $9.99! And the pros outweigh the cons by a landslide. If the other colours in the range suited my skin tone I would buy them. (I might just do it anyway to complete the set)

Swatches

Savvy:

Ultra Matte Lip Colour

Last but not least, we have Savvy. A brand I’ve never used but since buying these I’ve bought more of their products!.

Packaging! I love the frosted glass packaging for this product. Its similar to the Australis packaging, but the frosted glass makes it (in my opinion) stand out from other lip products in the same shape.

The theme for the names for these products seem to be ‘Hollywood’ themed the colours here (Left to Right) are: Miss Monroe (personal favourite), Icon, Rodeo Drive

Texture/Consistency: Similar to the Australis products, however these ones are a bit more dryer and will flake (it takes the whole day with no touch ups to get to that stage though)

Colour/Pigment: I’m in love with ‘Miss Monroe’. This colour is what the Bourjois’ ‘Grand Cru’ should have been. The other two colours are fully pigmented and give great coverage.

Smell: Not really any smell.

Application: Just like the others, quite easy. This also dry’s quickly, it isn’t moisturising like Bourjois is, and it does feel quite dry and a little bit sticky during the day, but thats only if you press your lips together quite hard, so don’t do that and you should be fine.

Wear and Tear: Just like Australis this is a commitment. But maybe up a level. Its almost an ordeal to get this off if you’ve made a mistake, so make sure you know what you’re doing. This product will stay all day and night with minimal attention required.

Price: I’m fairly sure this product was $7.99, and that is a bargain. For that price, I can say who cares about a slightly dry feeling when the pay off of colour is so great.

Swatches

Overall:

I would recommend all products to anyone who was interested but keep in mind, Bourjois is pricier and ‘Grand Cru’ is a let down (unless you really put the effort into application). But for the price, you get moisture. Australis is pleasant and with the odd cherry smell its just the ‘cherry on top’ (BAD PUN)It is cheaper than Bourjois, and is a little drying, but doesn’t flake. The colours are all great too.

The Savvy products I would also recommend. They are more drying than the other two and do tend to flake, but it took me a whole day of wear and tear for it to start flaking so I think for $8. you’re getting your moneys worth. Also, Miss Monroe is a gorgeous vintage deep red colour true to the name and is what Grand Cru should have been.

A WORD OF ADVICE: For the more drying lip products, put a moisturising lip balm on before application and throughout the day if needed. It does so much difference.

If you made it to the end of this, well done!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you try out these amazing products.